Tomas Berdych shocks Roger Federer to reach title-round – Dubai ATP 2013
Third seed, Tomas Berdych from Czech Republic, surprised everyone after shocking the former world number one, Roger Federer, in a three-set thriller at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2013 on Friday. He warded off three match points to outclass
the Swiss Maestro in the final four at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 series event taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Czech top ranked star, Berdych showed brilliant tennis abilities to jolt Federer in their 17th encounter. With this victory, Berdych improved to 11-6 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against the Swiss.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion, Federer was experiencing Déjà Vu as he lost against the 27-year-old with match points for the third time. He edged out in the Sony Ericsson Open three years ago and squandered match points in the doubles rubber at the Davis
Cup in 2007. He reflected:
“It's just disappointing losing this way. I think it's the third time I lost [with] match points against Tomas, twice in singles and once in doubles. It's just one of those matches you feel you should have won but end up losing. When you lose with match
points, you always have a lot of regrets. That's one of these matches again tonight.”
The world number two, Federer assertively entered on the court in order to defend his title. He smoothly held his entire serves with poise and got the breakthrough in the second last game, eventually sealing the opener with a 6-3 win.
Berdych re-focused his strategy in the proceeding set and got the coveted break in the sixth game to jump to a 5-2 lead. Despite squandering his edge in the ninth game, the Czech remained calm and took the set to a tie-breaker. He superbly dusted away three
match points in it and subsequently clinched the equaliser with a 7-6(8) score line.
In the deciding set, the world number six held his composure. He drew the first blood in the fifth game and got the upper hand. Berdych held his remaining serves with conviction and eventually sealed the decider by winning six games to four.
Next in queue for Berdych is the world number one, Novak Djokovic.
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